Number Portability Clearing Houses (NPCH) manage the portability process and database in a country for allowing a subscriber of a communications service to port a telephone number from one network provider to another. Therefore, a subscriber can change the network provider that provides the subscriber with services, while keeping the same telephone number. A NPCH may be a commercial entity.
Communication Service Providers (CSPs), such as network providers or operators, and the country's government may therefore need to pay for a license as well as operational costs to the NPCH provider to use its number porting services. The primary reason for this model is the trust factor and integrity of the centralized ported number database provided by the third-party NPCH.